The parents of two boys one of whom is autistic and suffered from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, have filed a judicial protest against Inspire Foundation claiming discrimination based on disability.
The foundation denied the claim but said it is facing pressures it cannot cope with (see reply below)
In their protest, signed by lawyer Mark Simiana and legal procurator Peter Sammut, the parents held the foundation responsible for damages.
They argued that they submitted applications for their two children to attend Inspire’s summer school on April 2.
Later that day, the mother received a phone call from Inspire informing her that her autistic son was not accepted. The other son, who did not have behavioural problems was accepted.
The mother was told that Inspire had decided to reduce the number of children with special needs in its classes because there were too many children who required a learning support assistant.
In their protest, the parents argued that Inspire was a foundation created to help and educate disabled people.
And while children who did not have a disability had a very vast range of summer schools they could attend, the choice was much more limited for children with disabilities.
The parents claimed discrimination based on disability against their son by an institution that was specifically set up to help children with these needs.
They pointed out that there were still places available for children and they expected children with special needs to be given precedent over others.
INSPIRE'S REACTION
Inspire, in a reaction, said it has been running an inclusive summer school for the past 15 years.
It said that since it is the only summer school in Malta that caters for children with disabilities at no charge (excluding LSA cost), and since it is renown for its high quality standards, every year it is overwhelmed by applications for children with disabilities.
"Unfortunately, due to competing summer schools and other factors, the number of applications from children with typical development is very small in comparison.
"It is essential to underline that the philosophy behind the summer school run by Inspire is that of inclusion. By its very definition, ‘inclusion’ implies the absence, or at best, the marked decrease of segregation of one particular group. In the case of disability this means that inclusion necessarily requires a mix of people of different abilities.
"In addition the Inspire Foundation was set up with one principal overriding aim in mind – that of increasing and improving inclusion in our society.
"Through experience we have learnt that in order to preserve inclusion and at the same time maintain high quality standards, a certain ratio between the number of children with disabilities and children with typical development needs to be maintained. In the past we ran classes with an equal ratio but an analysis of this showed that the risk of this being disruptive and non-beneficial for the students with disabilities was a marked one.
"At present our experience clearly indicates that for the element of inclusion to be validly reached, it is best to have less children who require an LSA than children who do not. The ratio varies depending on the age-bracket and the nature of the disabilities in one class and is therefore responsibly arrived at after a careful and analytical process.
"Whilst we fully empathize with, and fully understand parents who must feel that they have nowhere to send their children during the summer months, and whilst we would love to be in a position to accept all applications, unfortunately we are not in a position to do so.
"Some might erroneously interpret this as Inspire going against its own mission of advocating for inclusion and equality, but experience has shown us that when a higher percentage of children who require an LSA are accepted in any particular class, the noise and distraction levels make it very difficult and sometimes even upsetting, for children with certain disabilities such as Autism and ADHD."
Inspire said it remained fully committed to do its utmost to validly make a difference.
"We strongly encourage other State and private schools, to open their doors for children with disabilities in order to relieve some of the pressures that The Inspire Foundation is facing and is unfortunately, unable to cope with."